Kings County Distillery Gatehouse

Kings County Distillery Gatehouse

The Gatehouse just outside the Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn’s Navy yard is basically serves as a tasting room for all the spirits made by the distillery. They sell it by the pour for tasting, by the flight for comparison, and best of all, they have cocktails. I mean really good craft cocktails, not just a handful of ice thrown in a glass and buried in mixers to kill any flavor of any spirit. They use quality ingredients and precise measurements to provide the balance of a great cocktail.

The great selection of cocktails are those which work best with their distilled delights. Some are twists on the old classics and some are new an innovative cocktails which work well with experimentations like the Grapefruit & Jalapeño moonshine. Trust me, don’t knock this. You will be reaching for this sooner then you reach for the tequila when it comes to drinks like a Margarita.

The cocktails are not cheap, they range from $10-14 just as they would in Manhattan, but you can be sure they have all the best quality ingredients like fresh egg whites, bitters, ice and mixology methods. You will get a great cocktail, not just a sloppy glass of ice and mixers.

Their presentation of a Gibson, which is a Martini served with a pickled pearl onion instead of an olive, can use some more thought. They serve it straight up in a mini highball glass. It was a good martini, but somehow not serving it in a stemmed glass takes away from the very experience that a Martini is. I know I am being picky here, but let’s face it, martini drinkers are very very picky people, unless they are just posers, and this is not a place you expect to find many posers.

The atmosphere is pleasant, as is the staff and totally unpretentious. It is wide open, and as you can see there is a long picnic table if you want to gather in groups to drink. There is a small outside area if you wish to enjoy the warmer weather.

The only thing this place is lacking is food. I did not expect to find great gastropub food here or a vast menu, or even burgers, but when I am drinking I definitely need something more than dried beef jerky. I had just come from the Kings County Distillery tour and was really hoping to fill my stomach with something, even if it were pretzels or hot dogs so I can continue to enjoy the fine spirit offerings they presented. So either grab a bagel, donut or small sandwich before you enter, then you can snack on whatever they have, but definitely eat before you visit.